Graz Music Society

A season dedicated to the seasons

Riccardo Muti comes to Graz with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra

(Bild: APA/HANS PUNZ)

Artistic Director Michael Nemeth is also offering a top-class season with numerous highlights at the Grazer Musikverein in 2024/2025. One of the highlights is the concert with maestro Riccardo Muti and the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra in February 2025. 

Kids, how time flies: the Musikverein Graz has just celebrated its 200th anniversary and now the 210th season is already upon us. And to mark this anniversary, Artistic Director Michael Nemeth is not only offering his subscribers a classical program of international calibre, but also three anniversary concerts that leave nothing to be desired.

On February 14, 2025, for example, Maestro Muti will perform Bruckner's Seventh and Schubert's Fourth with the Vienna Philharmonic. Elīna Garanča follows in May, offering an evening of love away from the usual, and in June 2025, Oksana Lyniv returns to Graz to conduct the Youth Orchestra Alpe Adria and the winners of the singing competition, for which anyone born in 1996 or younger can apply.

Oksana Lyniv conducts again in Graz

(Bild: Oleh Pavliuchenkov)

Young people are very important to Nemeth, and as always there are special children's and family concerts as well as numerous discounts. "More than 2,000 students visit us every season," the artistic director proudly reports. Even more important to him, however, are his subscribers, to whom he will once again present illustrious names and musical delights in the coming season.

Haydn Festival continues
One focus is the Haydn Festival with Adam Fischer at the start of the season (September 23 to 26): Concerts with the Danish Chamber Orchestra will feature various symphonies as well as "The Seasons" with a fine line-up of soloists. The evening with Markus Schirmer will also be repeated.

The next highlight follows in October, when Christina Pluhar's ensemble L'Arpeggiata joins forces with countertenor Philippe Jaroussky. Star pianist Igor Levit returns, as does Daniil Trifonov, who will be performing Beethoven, Rachmaninov and Janáček together with Jakub Hrůša and the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra. 

Igor Levit plays Bach, Schumann and Beethoven

(Bild: felix broede)

A special Christmas concert is also on the program: Franz Posch, Friedrich Kleinhapl, Trombone Attraction and others build bridges between traditional folk music and classical music.

Great voices, young conductors
Günther Groissböck and Rolando Villazon will be taking part, as will the young conductors Patrick Hahn (with the Vienna Symphony Orchestra), Emmanuel Tjeknavorian, who will once again be taking up the violin, and Kristiina Poska. John Axlrod and the Kunstuni celebrate his 50th stage anniversary with Thomas Quasthoff, and András Schiff and the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment invite you to an elfin round dance.

Rolando Villazon

(Bild: Mozarteum)

Of course, Vassilis Christopoulos is also back in action with the Graz Philharmonic Orchestra, paying tribute to Arnold Schoenberg, one of the year's regents. The opera's first conductor, Johannes Braun, will also conduct a soirée for the first time. Sebastian Weigle and Andreas Ottensamer will also be conducting the Graz orchestra.

His brother Daniel enriches the chamber music section of the Musikverein with The Clarinet Trio Anthology. The Trio Orelon, the Pavel Haas Quartet, the Ensemble Wien and a courtly evening with Maddalena del Gobbo, Robert Bauerstatter and Tamás Varga can also be found there.

Vienna Boys' Choir in the Stefaniensaal
Rudolf Buchbinder returns to Graz, as do the Janoska Ensemble and Philharmonic Brass under Tugan Sokhiev. The Vienna Boys' Choir celebrates Johann Strauss, and the Opera Studio of the Vienna State Opera presents a colorful series of arias. 

An annual motto has also been adopted this year: Everything revolves around the seasons - and not just with Haydn and Vivaldi. You can find all the information here.